By any of the normal indices by which one judges the success of a leader of a modern nation state, he is a failure, and an abject failure at that. Yet still, after 28 years of disastrous rule, he remains at the helm and, incredibly, at the age of 84 he is putting himself forward again as a candidate - ZANU PF's only official candidate - for a further term as President of Zimbabwe. Such is the overwhelming arrogance of the man, Robert Mugabe. And that, with such a record of shame, he should have even the remotest prospect of prolonging his tenure in office, is testament only to the experience and expertise his regime has acquired in defying the democratic process.

At independence in 1980, Zimbabwe seemed poised on the threshold of an era of great promise. That independence was won at the cost of a bitter and protracted civil war, but now the proud nation was bursting with new confidence. Robert Mugabe was widely acclaimed as a hero - a revolutionary leader who had committed to the cause of reconciliation and the path of pragmatism. Western governments were falling over themselves in the rush to provide offers of aid. In the general euphoria then prevailing Julius Nyerere of Tanzania counselled Mugabe: "You have inherited a jewel. Keep it that way."

Roy Bennett (left)

There are some acts which, even coming from a regime notorious for its brutal disregard of human rights, still cause a sense of shock and outrage in the nation. Such an act is the sentencing of Roy Bennett by Parliament to an effective term of imprisonment of 12 months with hard labour. It is grossly disproportionate. It offends every civilized standard of law and morality. It is outrageous and should be condemned in the strongest terms by all who have any concern for justice and the rule of law.

However this monstrous injustice is dressed up it remains just that, a monstrous injustice - a calculated act of racial bigotry, an act of political revenge by a hugely unpopular regime carried out on one of the most popular opposition members of parliament.

It has been said that suffering reveals the true character of a person, and this is surely as true of a community that is being tried and tested in the fires of adversity as it is of an individual. Like the assayer's fire revealing the glint of the metal among the dross so the suffering within the community highlights the resilience, the courage, the heroism - and sometimes just the sheer dogged refusal to give up hope. So it is in Zimbabwe today.